Preview: Dodgers Go For Sweep Of Mariners In Civil Rights Game

In the first two games of their three game series with the Seattle Mariners, the Los Angeles Dodgers came away with walk-off victories. On Monday, it was Alex Guerrero coming up with the clutch hit, and on Tuesday, it was Howie Kendrick.

The two teams will once again take the field for the series finale on Wednesday night, with left-hander Brett Anderson making his second start of the season. He will be opposed by young Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker in the ninth annual Civil Rights Game.

It is also Jackie Robinson Day, where all players throughout the league wear the number 42 to celebrate former Dodger Jackie Robinson. This will be the first time that baseball’s tribute to civil rights leaders and figures will be held in conjunction with its annual commemoration of Hall of Famer, Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947.

The Civil Rights Game was developed by Major League Baseball to pay tribute to the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement and to honor those who embodied the struggle for equal rights for all Americans. This is the first Civil Rights Game hosted by the Dodgers and second one they have played in (2012), while this will be the first overall for the Mariners.

Anderson will be making his second start in a Dodger uniform. In his first start, he threw six innings and gave up five hits and three runs en route to a no-decision. He will look to slow down the Mariners’ big bats early. The Mariners have scored a combined five runs in the first inning of the first two games of the series, behind a Robinson Cano home run, and two Nelson Cruz home runs.

Anderson’s counterpart, Walker, is coming off a rough first start in which he allowed nine runs in 3.1 innings. The 22-year-old Southern California native has an electric fastball that reaches upper-90’s consistently.

Catcher Yasmani Grandal, who has been struggling, batting just .176 so far this season, will move up into the second slot in the lineup for the Dodgers, who will once again be without Yasiel Puig. Puig will miss his second straight game due to a tight left hamstring. Andre Ethier will take Puig’s spot in right field.

About The Author

Daniel Starkand is a senior at Chapman University majoring in journalism and minoring in broadcast journalism. He grew up in Burbank, CA. He played baseball at Burbank High and his first year at Chapman. He also writes for The Panther newspaper.